#AAP

A general question that baffles most people, when they read politics is the ideologies of the Left-Wing and Right-Wing. The spectrum of Left and Right-Wing is basically the set of beliefs that are practiced by the individuals having an inclination towards betterment of the society; the people can be politicians, community workers or social entrepreneurs. These principles help an individual or an organisation to formulate a strategy on which they plan to work for a progressive state.

RELIGIOUS MEANING

In terms of religious connotations, since most of the people were right-handed, right side meant being positive, while left was considered negative. The terms like righteousness and leftovers developed due to this mentality. In Buddhism, out of the two-paths, the right-hand side leads to Nirvana. In Christianity, the Son is at the right-hand side of the Father and in The Last Supper, the favorite of the Lord, the apostle John is sitting to His right, and not left.

HISTORICAL MEANING

The history for this segregation takes us back to 18th century Europe, specifically in France which was on a brink of a revolution. The French society was divided into three estates (like the Indian Caste system): First Estate(Priests and Clergymen), Second Estate(Nobility and Warriors) and Third Estate(Workers). In the decade of 1780s, even though France was indulged in nine years of war, yet the French monarch increased taxes only on the third estate, to maintain the lavish lifestyle of the Royal family as well as the two estates. This led to large-scale food shortages and riots.

In order to fix the situation; in 1789, months before the revolution, Louis XVI convened a national assembly of these three estates. The Meeting of the Estates as it was termed; the representatives were made to sit in a set pattern. The third estate members who opposed the monarchy [workers] were made to sit on the left of the King while the first two estates who supported the monarchy [Clergy and Nobility] were made to the sit on the right, given the religious connotations – right is superior, left is inferior.

The French Revolution witnessed the third estate members (seated to the left) to be anti-establishment, while the first and second estate members (seated on the right) worked on protecting the establishment. They eventually threw out the monarch, the religious authorities and the nobles.
Since then, left wing meant throwing the establishment and right wing mean protecting the establishment.

EVOLUTION OF MEANING

From the times of French Revolution, the Left became a symbol of change, while the Right became a symbol of order or preservation.

Since both religion and business is to do with preserving the existing, both groups often allied together. Rapid change was bad for both business & the church. World over, religious and business conservatives thus got into an uneasy partnership even if they both despised each other. They were also more likely to be patriots/nationalists, because nation is an identity that is at the core of stability. They are much more likely to be aggressive in preserving the symbols – flag, history, Constitution, anthem etc.

Since, the left was the side from where the workers came; it traditionally was much more towards equal rights and about spreading of wealth. Most often, leftists hated both religions and businesses. Thus, they voted for governments that put tight clamps on both – such as Communist China & Soviet Union.

MODERN MEANING

The definitions of Left and Right have changed over time, and depend on country and party. But, from a broad, broad perspective, Left-wingers will include the communists, feminists, anarchists, egalitarians, secular, atheists like Stalin and Mao. And right-wingers will include the fascists, neo-Nazis, religious fanatics, monarchists, racial supremacists and fundamentalists like Hitler and Mussolini.

Left wing beliefs are usually progressive in nature, they look to the future, aim to support those who cannot support themselves, are idealist and believe in equality. People who are left wing believe in taxation to redistribute opportunity and wealth. They believe in equality over the freedom to fail.

Right wing beliefs value tradition, they are about equity, survival of the fittest, and they believe in economic freedom. They typically believe that business shouldn’t be regulated, and that we should all look after ourselves. They believe in freedom to succeed over equality.

The intermediate stance is called centrism and a person with such a position is a moderate or centrist. Even though there are many extremists on the either side, most of the politicians are moderate or centrists. They are segregated as:

Centre Left: They believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice.

Radical Centre: It is defined as idealism without illusions. Most radical centrists borrow what they see as good ideas from left and right, and then meld them together. Most support market-based solutions to social problems with strong governmental oversight in the public interest.

Centre-Right: They believe in building progressive societies by promoting capitalism.

BELIEFS ON CORE ISSUES

1. Economics

LEFT: Central planning via governing structures, a welfare state, nationalization of economy. Income equality; higher tax rates on the wealthy; government spending on social programs and infrastructure; stronger regulations on business and subsidies.

RIGHT: Capitalism, social and economic hierarchies, economic freedom, decentralized economy, lower taxes and less regulation on businesses, reduced government spending, balanced budget, less dependence on subsidies and welfare assistance.

2. Society

RIGHT: Important to defend Tradition, Moral Order and national interests.

3. Global Trade

LEFT: Anti-free trade. They don’t values profits if they come at the cost of violating laws of social equality and levelness. They rarely lay down the red carpet for multinationals and private players.

RIGHT: Pro-free trade. They make sure that the policies they draft ensure good amount of profit to the nation even if some of the parameters of social justice are compromised on the way.

4. Minority Rights

LEFT: Extra Protection and privileges

RIGHT: Everyone is equal

5. Crime

LEFT: Several people on death row were innocent and have been exonerated. The justice system is not perfect and it would be wrong to kill an innocent person. It is inhuman to take a life, even that of a murderer. It’s not so much about how heinous the crime is but how much the defendant can afford to spend on lawyers.

RIGHT: The death penalty is an effective deterrent against crimes, especially crimes of a heinous nature. The alternative — life in prison — would only mean spending taxpayer money to keep them confined, fed and provide healthcare services to them. Victims and their families deserve justice; often they can only get closure when the perpetrator is put to death.

EXAMPLES OF CENTRE-LEFT and CENTRE-RIGHT

India: Indian National Congress and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP).

UK: Labour Party and Conservative Party.

France: Socialist Party and National Front.

USA: Democratic Party and Republican Party.

Australia: Australian Labour Party (ALP) and Liberal Party.

Pakistan: Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Germany: Die Linke and Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

Canada: Liberal Party and Conservative Party.

Poland: Civic Platform and Prawo-i-Sprawiedliwość (PiS).

Netherlands: Socialist Party and Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV).

INDIAN CONTEXT

The BJP would thus be called centre-right in their ideology, while the Congress would be called centre-left. At the extremes will be the Shiv Sena/AIMIM (on Right) and the CPI(M)/AAP (on Left).

After Narendra Modi’s victory in 2014, it has become convenient to lump the BJP and the Sangh parivar as right-wing forces, when the reality is that their views reflect a wide variety of positions on political, social and economic issues. Also, the Congress is not totally to the left of the BJP on many issues.

In India, the “right-wing” Bharatiya Janata Party has market-friendly economic thinkers like Arun Shourie and Subramanian Swamy and yet it also has Lal Krishan Advani, who is suspicious of the entire American financial model. In between, stands Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is not allergic to capitalism or the free market but is also reluctant to abandon the country’s public sector units.

The same might be said of the “left-wing” Indian National Congress. Some of its members like Shashi Tharoor and Capt.Amarinder Singh might have much more in common with Arun Shourie than their own leaders of yesteryear who advocated control of the commanding heights of the national economy.

CHANGING IDEOLOGIES

People don’t remain on the same side throughout. When he was younger, Stalin fought on the side of the revolutionaries since he wanted to change & get the power. However, as soon as he got the power he became the establishment against which others had to fight; changing his ideology from Right to Left. In some sense, almost all leftists transform into a totalitarian establishment. No one wants to give up power, while everyone wants to take power.

In Indian context, it was India’s “liberal” Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru who introduced curbs on free speech and a “conservative” thinker like Vinayak Savarkar who argued against untouchability and the caste system. Dr. BR Ambedkar was a strong votary of capitalism and free markets, but most of the parties which now worship Ambedkar would be reckoned to be broadly to the left of the political universe. The Congress party itself advocated a mixed economy, building a middle path between state and private capitalism. The BJP, in its earlier avatar as the Jana Sangh, had stronger positions against state interventions than in its current incarnation.

CONCLUSION

These are the basics of that one needs to know about Left and Right politics. In a healthy society, both left and right ideas are needed. It’s a lot more complicated than this, and the definitions are dependent on era, party, leader and country. But the core tenets of the ideologies remain more or less the same.

In the photograph, can you recognise who is with deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal? If your guess is General JJ Singh, former Indian Army Chief; then you are correct. He will be contesting against Capt. Amarinder Singh from Patiala Urban on SAD ticket.

As Punjab starts gearing up for the state Vidhan Sabha elections, the Babus (Bureaucrats) have also decided to make a foray in the run up to the State Assembly. While this is not new for the conventional parties of Indian National Congress (INC) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD); the recent one, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in a bid to project its clean image has also decided to give tickets to various Administrative and Police Officers. Akali Dal has always been a front-runner when it comes to giving tickets to IAS-IPS-PCS officers, but this time the competition will increase with candidates of Congress and AAP. And it is not only the parties, but these Babus themselves take an active interest in getting a ticket for themselves or their family members.

2012 Vidhan Sabha Elections

Darbara Singh Guru, IAS and former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, contested from constituency of Bhadaur (Reserved) on Akali Dal ticket but lost to Mohammed Sadique of Congress.

Pargat Singh, Olympian and Director of Sports (Punjab), contested from constituency of Jalandhar Cantt. on Akali Dal ticket and won against Jagbir Singh Brar who had defected to Congress from Akali Dal.

Paramdeep Singh Gill, IPS and former DGP, contested from constituency of Moga on Akali Dal ticket but lost to Joginder Pal Jain of Congress. Gill’s father, Nachhatar Singh was a Congress MLA from Moga before he was murdered allegedly by terrorists.

Shiv Ram Kaler, IAS and former ADC Ludhiana (Additional Deputy Commissioner), contested from constituency of Jagraon (Reserved) on Akali Dal ticket and won against Ishar Singh of Congress.

Sukhwant Singh Sarao, retired-IAS and former ADC (Additional Deputy Commissioner), contested from constituency of Lehra on Akali Dal ticket but lost to Rajinder Kaur Bhattal of Congress.

Amarjit Singh Sidhu, retired-IAS, contested from constituency of Talwandi Sabo on Akali Dal ticket but lost to Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu of Congress.

Som Parkash, retired-IAS, contested from constituency of Phagwara (Reserved) on BJP ticket and won against Balbir Kumar Sodhi of Congress.

The parties trust them because of their experience in handling the Administration, Law and Order; and having a direct contact with the public. Most of them have a clean image and with their knowledge of Academics coupled with on-ground work, make them a suitable candidate for the parties. Most of them step into politics post-retirement for it gives them a chance to keep working for the society.

In 2017, the prominent faces are DS Guru, former principal secretary to the CM and TP Singh, son-in-law of Rajya Sabha MP SS Dhindsa.

2017 Vidhan Sabha Elections

Akali Dal has trusted their former aide Darbara Singh Guru, retired-IAS officer, but this time from constituency of Bassi Pathana (Reserved) instead of Bhadaur.

Retired-IAS, Som Parkash, who successfully contested from constituency of Phagwara (Reserved) on BJP ticket, has been trusted again with a ticket from Phagwara.

Runner-up in last election; Razia Sultana, wife of IPS and ADGP(Internal Vigilance) Mohammed Mustaffa; will contest election for the fourth time on the ticket of Congress, from the constituency of Malerkotla.

Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu, IAS and former DC Mohali (Deputy Commissioner), who is also son-in-law of Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa will contest on Akali Dal ticket from Mohali.

Amar Singh, former-IAS has been trusted by Congress to contest from Raikot (Reserved) seat.

Kartar Singh Pehalwan; former-IPS, Rustom-e-Hind and winner of Arjuna Award in wrestling & Padam Shri, has been given a ticket by AAP to contest from Tarn Taran constituency.

Ajaib Singh Bhatti, ex-PCS, who is a sitting-MLA of Congress, will contest elections from Malout (Reserved) constituency again.

Sajjan Singh Cheema, ex-PPS, has been fielded from Sultanpur Lodhi constituency by AAP.

Harbhajan Singh, ex-PCS, will contest elections on the ticket of AAP from Jandiala seat (Reserved).

Aapna Punjab Party, floated by Sucha Singh Chhotepur after he resigned as Punjab convenor for AAP, has fielded Hardip Singh Kingra, ex-IFS of Himachal-cadre from the constituency of Faridkot.

Satbir Singh Khatra, son of DIG Ranbir Singh Khatra, will contest elections on ticket of Akali Dal from Patiala Rural constituency. DIG Khatra had been a close aide of former-SGPC president Late Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

Observers say the first phase of Punjab bureaucracy taking a turn towards politicisation began during the days of terrorism when under President’s rule the civil servants exercised absolute powers. In the post-terrorism days, after 1992, politicians began banking heavily on civil servants and shared power. But, after 1997, politicians and bureaucrats adopted a policy of ‘you scratch my back and I scratch yours’. The count of bureaucrats contesting elections has increased from around 20 in 2012 to over 35 in 2017. However, giving a ticket these babus is not a not guarantee of winning the elections. While the strongest contender Darbara Singh Guru lost last time, heavyweight Paramdeep Singh Gill suffered similar fate.

Come February 4 and voters will tell them again; that in a democracy, it is the common man who will decide his ruler’s destiny.

If Delhi witnessed histrionics in their Chief Minister, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal; Punjab has its own drama-king in cricketer-turned-politician, Navjot Singh Sidhu. It was on 18 July 2016, that Sidhu resigned from BJP’s Rajya Sabha seat, making an emotional speech on his love for Punjab. It has been 177 days since then and his political plans are yet unclear.

Career

Known as “Sixer Sidhu” for his prolific batting performances, his International Cricket career lasted from 1983 until 1999. Post retirement, Sidhu took up television commentary, TV shows, films and politics. While working with comedian Kapil Sharma, earlier on Comedy Nights with Kapil and now, The Kapil Sharma Show; Sidhu had been a former Member of Parliament from Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency between 2004 and 2014. The tension in his political innings began, when he was denied an election ticket in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Sidhu decided not to contest elections from any other constituency apart from Amritsar, citing the emotional bond and the work he had done for the city. His unhappiness with the party was visible and he was expected to take some step.

Political Past

After his resignation from Rajya Sabha, he decided to join Aam Aadmi Party on the pretext of being its CM candidate. When the same was denied to him, he along with Pargat Singh (ex-Akali Dal MLA from Jalandhar Cantt constituency) and Bains brothers (independent MLAs from Ludhiana) formed a new political front, Awaaz-e-Punjab, claiming to fight against those working against Punjab. His Front broke up due to his decision of not fighting the elections as it was not feasible for a new party to give results in just 3 to 4 months. While Pargat Singh joined Congress, Bains brothers went ahead with AAP, but Sidhu hasn’t still decided upon any role. And this is the root of all confusion.

Present Politics

While Punjab Congress chief and CM-candidate Capt. Amarinder Singh might be announcing Sidhu’s candidature from Amritsar (East) constituency, interestingly, Sidhu himself has never confirmed whether he will join Congress or not, leave alone the suspense over him or his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu to fight elections or not.

The importance of being Navjot Singh Sidhu

The whole drama of Sidhu being an apple in the eyes of Punjab voters is him being a prominent Sikh face in Punjab. He has a clean image with no history of corruption. Also, Sidhu is a star campaigner and has a sharp political acumen. Both traits make him an uncanny crowd puller. Equally, if not more, crucial are his unquestionable anti-Badal credentials — a reputation he has built assiduously and aggressively by taking the ruling Badal clan head-on. Sidhu is widely seen as a fighter against the Badals which he wears on his sleeve as badge of honour. The Congress wants to cash in on his clean image despite the fact that Sidhu has never taken a clear political stand on any of the issues concerning Punjab.

Congress and Sidhu

Not only Capt. Amarinder Singh, but the opposition (Akali Dal and AAP) are also left in frenzy as to what will Sidhu do next. Even more interesting is Amarinder Singh’s stance on Sidhu, which changes after every fifteen days from hard to soft to hard. The Punjab Congress is confused as to whether Amarinder Singh wants Sidhu in his party or not. Some sources say that there are chances that Sidhu might not contest the Assembly polls for now and stick to campaigning for the Congress. There is another scenario which states that Congress might also offer Sidhu a Rajya Sabha seat.

Another interesting angle in this whole story is the by-election to Lok sabha seat of Amritsar, which has been vacated by resignation of Amarinder Singh on the issue of SYL canal. This election is also due on 4 February, along with Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections. Before entering Congress, Sidhu made a condition, that his wife shall be given a ticket to contest from Amritsar (East) constituency and he should be given the Lok Sabha ticket. When Sidhu realised that Congress might give-in to his demands, he took a step further and asked for becoming the CM candidate from Congress (which had been declined by AAP). It was at this time that the talks failed, when Amarinder Singh made it clear that not only will he be the CM-candidate, but it will be he, who will decide the candidates to all 117 seats. If Sidhu wishes to join Congress, he should do it unconditionally. Further, going by Congress’s norm in 2017 Punjab Assembly elections of ‘one-family-one-ticket’, either Sidhu, or his wife will get the ticket, not both.

The man, who left his MP seat to become CM of Punjab, then on the promise of being a deputy CM (claimed by both AAP and Congress), now is apprehensive of even contesting Assembly elections. While Sidhu keeps his sher-o-shayari and laughter scale up in Kapil Sharma’s show, his dilly-dallying and delaying of candidature is adding to chaos and uncertainty in Punjab’s political scenario.

With the Election Commission announcing dates for the Elections in 5 states; Punjab, along with Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa has started the final phase for its competition for the 2017 Assembly Elections.

Schedule:

Punjab will go for polls in a single phase on 4 February 2017 (Saturday) for a contest on 117 constituencies. The notification for the same will come out on 11 January for filing the nominations, 18 January being the last date and 21 January being the date to withdraw nomination. The result will be declared on 11 March 2017. Also, with the announcement of dates on 4 January, the Model Code of Conduct has come into effect in the 5 states. This is the first time that the EC has given such a short duration of less than 30 days for parties to prepare for their elections.

Model Code of Conduct:

The Punjab Government can NOT take any small or big decision now. It will work as a caretaker for the state, with the responsibility of maintaining basic facilities and Law & Order till the results are declared. The Cabinet does not hold any power to present a bill in the Vidhan Sabha.

The Ministers and MLAs can NOT use any government facilities bestowed to them, as their terms have formally ended. These facilities like government vehicles, residences, exemption from toll are henceforth withdrawn. However, the Ministers and MLAs can keep the security that has been provided to them.

The ruling party can NOT use its seat of power for the campaign purposes. It can NOT direct the government employees to canvass votes for them, directly or indirectly.

Transfer of Punjab government employees will take place ONLY on the orders of Central and State Election Officials.

The government can NOT start or lay foundation stones of the new development projects like construction of roads, provision of drinking water facilities etc. or any ribbon-cutting ceremonies. However, the work of the already started projects will not be stopped.

Government bodies can NOT participate in any recruitment process during the electoral process.

Before using loud speakers during their poll campaigning, candidates and political parties must obtain permission or license from the District Administration for conducting election rallies.

New Rules by Election Commission for Punjab:

The candidates contesting elections have to provide an affidavit stating that they have no bills pending on them, which include those of Electricity, Water & Sewerage, House rent and Taxes.

The limit on expense for a candidate to contest an election will be ₹28 lakhs.

Apart from the names and symbols of the candidates contesting elections, the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will also have their photograph opposite their names.

The height of the voting compartment will be increased by 30 inches to maintain secrecy of the casted votes.

The voters can demand a coloured voter slip which can confirm the vote given by them.

Separate polling booths for Men and Women in sensitive areas.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will deploy its 43 officers across the state for drug law enforcement and intelligence to fight drug trafficking and the abuse of illegal substances.

Election Scenario:

The present situation of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is: the Akali Dal-BJP coalition has a total of 71 seats, Congress has 43 seats, while others occupy 3 seats. Out of the total 117 seats, 59 seats are required to form a government. Of the 1.9 crore voters in Punjab, 50.2% (1.1 crore) are from the age group 18-39 years, meaning that the government to be formed will be decided by the youth. The General category voters constitute to 41%, Dalits constitute 32.9% and the rest 26.1% are OBCs.

Parties in the contest:

Around 35 parties are set to fight the Punjab elections. The prominent names being Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Indian National Congress (INC), Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India-ML (CPI-ML), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Punjab Front and Apna Punjab Party (APP).

The 2017 Assembly elections will witness a triangular contest between the ruling SAD-BJP coalition, the opposition INC and the new entrant AAP. The usual bilateral contest between Akali Dal and Congress was challenged by Manpreet Singh Badal-led People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) in 2012 Assembly Elections, but it failed to win even a single seat. PPP has now been merged in Congress.

Riding on the development plank and fighting the anti-incumbency wave is the Chief Minister for the past 9 years, S. Parkash Singh Badal of SAD-BJP coalition. This election might be the last for him, where his son and Akali Dal president S. Sukhbir Singh Badal will lead the campaigning. Being a part of the NDA alliance at Centre, BJP will be asked to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conducting rallies. Challenging the issues of lawlessness, farmer issues and demonetisation is the ex-Chief Minister from Congress, Capt. Amarinder Singh. He has already announced that this will be the last term of five years, after which, he will retire from active politics. He will be assisted by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, who needs to desperately win a state, after being on a losing spree since 2012. And fighting the two arch-rivals will be Aam Aadmi Party, which has raised issues of corruption, drugs and nepotism. Though AAP has not announced its formal CM candidate as of now, yet Bhagwant Mann, MP from Sangrur, has been fiercely campaigning for the party. He is joined by Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM and AAP National Convenor, who is eying the only state that gave his party 4 seats in Lok Sabha elections of 2014. It will be a make or break election for him, as this defeat will dent the future of his party.

Even though the contest is mainly between the three parties, yet smaller ones will try to make their presence felt by taking a prominent amount of vote share. These include Mayawati-ledBSP, Jagmeet Brar-ledTMC, Dr. Dharamvira Gandhi-ledPunjab Front and Apna Punjab Party (APP), floated by Sucha Singh Chottepur, after he was sacked from the post of AAP state-convenor.

Punjab will witness a contest which will decide the fate of Congress and AAP in national politics and that of S. Sukhbir Singh Badal in Punjab. Congress lost elections in 2012, General Elections in 2014 and State elections in 2015. With their chances looking bleak in rest 4 states, the party is banking heavily on Punjab for its revival. AAP will want to increase its tally with Punjab as a second state after Delhi, which will help it in becoming a major force in General Elections of 2019. Finally, with his father retiring and slated to take the bastion of the party in his hands, Badal Junior will want to become the new face of the traditional party of Punjab.

For those thinking whether it was politically motivated move or not, and those who are going Gaga over this raid on 15 December,

Here are the facts I gathered:

1. Raid has been conducted on Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar and not on Kejriwal, in accordance to cases from 2002 to 2014.

2.CBI had him on its radar since quite a long time. During UPA govt when Ranjit Sinha was the director of CBI, he had made plans for carrying out a raid. But Sinha himself was accused in Coal-gate, so raid could not be carried out.

3.Kumar is accused for abusing his official position, by “favoring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments”.

4. Even reputed organization like Transparency International India filed complaint against Kumar but Kejriwal choose not to act.

5. What is more ironic is that allegation against Kumar was made by a former bureaucrat, Ashish Joshi, secretary of Delhi Dialogue Commission on 15 June in Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) made by Kejriwal himself to check corruption.

6. Serious allegations against him are in Education and IT Department where he created bogus companies to get tenders. Whichever department he was transferred in, got this indirect benefits.

8. In the past one and a half year, CBI has recorded 3000 phone calls and got evidence from 15 IAS officers of his batch and 35 officials of Delhi government.

9. CBI will take help from its IT experts because Kumar is not cooperating in getting his e-mails checked, which have evidence against him.

10. A question which even I was thinking, that if the files are in different Departments, why his office of PS to CM is searched. CBI says that they had intelligence inputs that Kumar had hidden all those files, which had details and evidence against him, are now in his PS office.

11. CBI had planned to carry out the raid few months back, but at that time there was a cold war between Delhi CM and LG Najeeb Jung. When CBI asked for a permission from Home Ministry, to carry out a raid, it was Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s instruction: “Raid to be carried out, ONLY if CBI has legitimate evidence“.

12. CBI has plans to carry out raid in 14 places, including his home and office. Apart from him, there are 6 more people who will be investigated in this case. They are:

AK Duggal: Ex-MD, Intelligent Communication Systems India Limited

GK Nanda: Ex-MD, Intelligent Communication Systems India Limited

RS Kaushik: Intelligent Communication Systems India Limited

Sandeep Kumar: Director, M/s Endeavour Systems Private Limited

Dinesh Kumar Gupta: Director, M/s Endeavour Systems Private Limited

The timeline of the events are:

10 May 2002 – 10 February 2005:

Rajendra Kumar worked as director in Education Department. During this time, he created two companies- Caltoonz and Edudel MIS in Timarpur, and Ashok Kumar was made its incharge. He then set up a company named Endeavour Systems Private Limited with Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar Gupta as its Directors. Ashok Kumar, from DASS cadre, resigned from government service in 2009.

2007:

Kumar becomes IT Secretary in Delhi government. He managed to get his company, Endeavours Private Limited empanelled with a PSU, (Intelligent Communication Systems India Ltd) so it could be awarded work without tenders. Work up to Rs 50 crore was done through this company.

Kumar became secretary in Transport & Health departments and then VAT Commissioner.

2009-2014:

His companies entered the field of Energy, Real Estate and Coaching, with Ashok Kumar as its common director. Most of the companies are registered at the same address and have common directors (most of them are Rajendra Kumar’s relatives).

If allegations are found to be true, punishments and penalties in corruption charges will be levied against Ministers and officials in Shiela Dixit govt.

Now, the question arises is why Mr. Kejriwal is scared of CBI enquiry. When CBI raided Patanjali Yogpeeth, Swami Ramdev never raised a question, saying that he has nothing to hide. And that was when UPA was at the centre. If he is honest as he claims, what has he to hide?

Ford Foundation Files?

In evening, Mr. Kejriwal came out infront of Media exclaiming, he is not scared of the PM and he justified using the language because of his rural origins; that he was born and grown up in village. Which village teaches him words like “psychopath”? PM Modi is also from rural background and so are many ministers. Does the language he used, worthy of an IIT-ian and an IRS officer?

In case many of you don’t know, the Delhi state Lokayukt (under Jan Lokpal Bill tabled by Aam Aadmi Party a month ago) can investigate the Prime Minister and his cabinet. A state official monitoring a Central government head is shocking and hilarious at the same time. Why did he have no compulsions when he proceeded with that bill?

And the worst part is that the opposition parties are willing to make uproar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament against this issue. Congress has decided to create a ruckus again, as they believe that the Central government is controlling the CBI (totally forgetting that the Hon. Supreme Court termed CBI as caged parrot under UPA rule) and Mamta Banerjee led TMC has full support too.

There are laws that need attention, that need to be passed; but as again, Kejriwal’s dramatics has given yet another weapon to the opposition who have no consideration for wasting the precious time of Indian Parliament.